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Show EDUCATION The Park Record. Editor: Bubba Brown education@parkrecord.com 435.649.9014 ex.118 PCSD SUMMER PROGRAM AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS The Park City School District announced the schedule for the summer program for elementary school students. According to the district’s website, pcschools. us, the program will run from June 19 through July 26 and is available for students entering grades one through six. Students in the program will participate in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) projects and will also receive enrichment, literacy instruction and recreation. Registration meetings will be held on these dates for the following schools: McPolin Elementary School, May 24; Parley’s Park Elementary School, May 25; Jeremy Ranch Elementary School, May 26; Trailside Elementary School, May 27. All meetings are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact John Hall at 435-645-5650. TRAILSIDE PTO SEEKS DONATIONS FOR AUCTION The parent-teacher organization at Trailside Elementary School seeks donations and volunteers for a silent auction that will be held at the school’s year-end carnival. According to a schools newsletter, people or businesses that have goods or services they’d like to donate should contact fundraising@trailsidepto.org. In return, the logos of businesses that donate will be placed in the PTO newsletter and on the group’s website. Volunteers will be in charge of picking up donations, running the silent auction. PCSD ASKS PARENTS TO FILL OUT SURVEYS The Park City School District is asking parents to fill out online surveys to improve classrooms and schools. According to the district’s website, pcschools. us, the survey is intended to gather feedback about teachers, principals and schools. The surveys will remain anonymous, and the district is not seeking to collect personal information from respondents. Teachers and administrators will be shown the results in order to improve their schools. The survey will take around 10 minutes to complete and is available on the district’s website. STUDENTS TAKE TURN AS DEVELOPERS, A-16 www.parkrecord.com AT ECKER, GRATITUDE IS BUILDING, A-16 A-15 WED/THURS/FRI, APRIL 12-14, 2017 District dials in on power of the text message Official says opt-in system could be a ‘game changer’ By BUBBA BROWN The Park Record The Park City School District’s promise to put another bond on the ballot this fall has generated buzz in the community. It may soon start causing a buzz in your pocket as well. The district recently began using a technology that enables it to send text messages to residents to inform them about the upcoming bond measure and related projects. The system, which operates on an opt-in basis, also allows residents to respond and even have full conversations with district personnel. Molly Miller, the district’s community relations specialist, said the technology represents a drastic reimagining of how school officials communicate with residents after breakdowns in outreach during a similar bond campaign in 2015 helped doom that effort. Miller is hopeful the system will break through the roadblocks that in the past have made it difficult to effectively distribute large-scale messaging. “As far as educating people and informing people, and especially getting feedback, this is a complete game changer for the Park City community and for the school district as a whole,” she said. “I really encourage people to sign up and opt in. “It’s been a really cool challenge to think about where people are spending their time,” she added. “And it’s on their phones. You’re searching the internet on your phone, you’re texting your friends. You’re doing everything on your phone, so it’s just a matter of going to people where they are.” Officials tested the technology in a pilot program at Ecker Hill Middle School with about 300 parents before recently rolling out the system throughout the rest of the district. Miller said DENNIS HANLON Your Tuhaye Connection TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD The Park City School District is using software from local tech startup AtlasRTX to communicate with parents via text message. Molly Miller, the district’s community relations specialist, calls the technology a game-changer, while Atlas RTX CEO Bassam Salem says the company is excited about partnering with the school district. the level of engagement during the pilot exceeded expectations. In one case, she used the system to ask participants to rate their satisfaction with certain district projects on a scale of one through five. For parents who messaged back with a one or a two, she was able to follow up to learn more about why they were displeased. “We’ve already seen the effectiveness of this tool, using it the unique way that we’re using it,” she said. “Even people who would respond to our surveys with pretty stingy scores, I would respond and they’d be like, ‘What?’ They were really pleased to get that personal contact. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you really care about what I think.’” A Park City startup, AtlasRTX, partnered with the district to provide the technology. The company’s software was designed for businesses to reach their customers -- such as a hotel offering concierge services via text message -- and it wasn’t until CEO Bassam Salem had a conversation with former Park City Board of Education member Moe Hickey that he saw an opportunity to use the product in a different way. He said the partnership with the school district has made him reevaluate the types of organizations that could leverage the software. “To be completely frank, we never really envisioned using this with school district,” he said. “But now that we have, we’re talking about maybe we should consider that. We’ve used this as a great partnership in our local community, and we’ll see where it goes.” An important feature of the technology is its ability to bridge the language divide between the district and its Spanish-speaking families. It translates the text messages in real time, allowing Miller, who doesn’t speak Spanish, to speak directly with a segment of the Park City population that has been difficult for the district to reach over the years. Miller said reaching Latino residents is nothing short of critical. “That was a piece that has been missing for a while,” she said. “Having the ability to speak in people’s native languages is so crucial for them to understand projects and to get involved when they want to get involved. I’m so proud of the progress the district has made in that direction.” Residents can opt-in to the text message system online by visiting the district’s website, pcschools.us, or by texting their first and last name to 435602-4444. COME HOME TO TUHAYE A Spectacular Golf Course Community Just Minutes from Park City 435.640.5851 dennis.hanlon@sothebysrealty.com Call Dennis for a complete list of homes and lots for sale in Tuhaye. CROWN JEWEL OF TUHAYE 3 BD | 4 BA | 6,345 SF | $3,390,000 Talisker Membership Included 3595 Ridgeway Drive FABULOUS VIEWS AND FINISHES 5 BD | 7 BA | 5,780 SF | $2,245,000 Talisker Membership Included 9045 Twin Peaks Drive ©MMXVII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. 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